Man charged with child abuse

A Jefferson City man has been charged with two counts of child abuse for inflicting physical and mental abuse against children younger than 18.

As of Wednesday, Darshan Gandhi, 36, was being held in the Cole County Jail on $100,000 bond.

A Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statement shows the victims were two girls, ages 5 and 9. The 5-year-old was found to have burns on her ankle and on the top of one of her hands. The 9-year-old had a burn on her left hand.

Officers following up on a child abuse hotline call had Gandhi come to the police station after he told them in an earlier interview that he had threatened the girls with hot spoons. Gandhi told investigators that after a volleyball game he disciplined the girls by heating a spoon on a stove and placing it on their bodies.

The oldest girl was punished for placing her fingers in her mouth during the game. The younger girl was disciplined for being disruptive during the game.